A thug who headbutted a bus driver after a drunken night out has been jailed for 12 weeks.
Christopher John Crellin, of Laburnum Avenue, Douglas, pleaded guilty to a common assault charge and was also ordered to pay the driver £500 in compensation.
The court heard how, on June 26 at 8.45pm, Crellin, who is 29, got on a bus at Lord Street, Douglas, after drinking at a christening.
He sat at the back of the bus by a group of children but was asked by the driver to get off as he started harassing passengers.
At that point Crellin was said to have headbutted the driver causing injuries to his left cheekbone and eye.
He then got off the bus and left the area.
He later handed himself in after seeing reports of the incident on social media.
In a police interview he said that he had been at a family ‘do’, but he could not remember boarding the bus or why he got on, as he said it was not the right bus to get him home.
When shown the CCTV footage Crellin said a little bit of him was hoping it wasn’t him but that he wanted to apologise to the driver.
The court heard that Crellin is currently still subject to a 12-month probation order imposed in May after taking a vehicle without consent and crashing it.
Defending Crellin in court on Tuesday advocate David Reynolds said: ‘My client is under no illusions that he’s looking at custody today.
‘He had been at a family christening, his partner had previously been in hospital for some time giving birth to their child which he had been stressing over.
‘He thought he had put behind him some issues he had, but under the influence of alcohol those issues came back.
‘He had an argument with his mother and left the christening but carried on drinking. He remembers very little after that.
‘Mr Crellin couldn’t understand why he ended up on the bus, it was going in the opposite direction he wanted to go.’
Mr Reynolds went on to say that Crellin had handed himself in to police.
A probation report recommended a suspended sentence and Crellin’s advocate agreed, asking that any custody be suspended.
Deputy High Bailiff Jayne Hughes said: ‘It must have been a frightening experience for the driver and passengers. Use of the head as a weapon is always an aggravating factor.
‘You have to take responsibility for your actions. Any consequences for you and your family follow from you being so drunk you didn’t know what you were doing. I can find no grounds to suspend the sentence.’
Crellin was also banned from entering onlicensed premises for six months.